This month, local residents were given an opportunity to discuss the changes they wanted to see in their community. By participating in a BHC Charette, the voice of the community was used to create a plan for success.

“A Charette is a multi-day public planning process that has iterative forms of feedback,” says Katie Valenzuela Garcia with Ubuntu Green. “In theory if you came on one day and you came the next day, you wouldn’t be giving feedback on the same thing, but your feedback would grow as the plans started to be developed. The goal is to create a proactive plan that we can rally behind.”

The Charette focused on a variety of issues throughout Southern Sacramento, including Housing, Urban Agriculture, Circulation (Pedestrian Travel), Social Equity, Community Engagement, Economic Develpoment, and Environmental Health. Easy and interactive forms of feedback, including surveys, comment cards, and color-coded stickers, allowed participants to clearly present the changes they wanted to see in their communities.

For younger participants, the experience was particularly valuable.

“I would describe this event as empowering and informational, because this event is taking in youth voice,” said Yeshayah Yisreal, youth participant. “When we [youth] go to the city council, they usually…exclude our voice, but this event is taking in our voice and is going to let us have some say in what’s happening in our community.”

The Charette, which spanned a full week, aimed to isolate the factors that inhibit the development of struggling communities.

“We’ve been really pleased with the number of folks that have come out and the feedback that we’ve gotten,” says Valenzuela Garcia. “We know the issues and we hear a lot of the issues, but [we want] to have a vision, that we can all say ‘this is what we’re trying to get to.’ We want to show the residents in this area what’s possible.”

To learn more about the BHC Initiative, click here. See below for photos from the BHC Charette.

WALKSacramento is a non-profit organization that strives to improve pedestrian safety.

This fall, a local organization called WALKSacramento will take new steps toward safer communities. For the first time in Sacramento, a program called the Vision Zero Initiative will be implemented in order to approach pedestrian safety from a unique angle.

“The Vision Zero Initiative roots back to Sweden,” says Emily Gerhart, Project Coordinator of WALKSacramento. “Because Sacramento has a closer proximity to San Fransisco, we have been modeling our program in the BHC neighborhood off of the San Francisco program. We decided for our project we would try implementing this program in a smaller community, and [then] see if we can bring this to other communities.”

Vision Zero is based on the notion that “no one should die or suffer serious injury in traffic.” (visionzeroinitiative.com) WALKSacramento’s model of the program will focus on pedestrian collisions, street conditions, awareness, and networking.

WALKSacramento’s Vision Zero program will begin on a small scale this fall, in a region called the “BHC Zone.” This area, also known as the Building Healthy Communities region, has been selected by the California Endowment as one of fourteen locations to receive funding for community development.

“The goal of WALKSacramento would be to reduce pedestrian death,” Gerhart adds. “But we’re very lucky that thanks to the California Endowment, we have funding to specifically target this area of Sacramento.”

In an effort to make the project as successful as possible, WALKSacramento will be approaching Vision Zero from a community standpoint. Any and all local residents interested in the project can participate.

“On a very basic level, anyone can participate in the Initiative by driving safer, walking safer, [and] biking safer,” says Gerhart. “Specifically for the community and the participants who live in the BHC, we will be having an upcoming workshop and looking for the people that live there to tell us what their needs are. Anyone that wants to be involved can definitely contact me via my email or our telephone.”

To learn more about the Vision Zero Initiative, or to get involved, contact Gerhart at egerhart@walksacramento.org, or call 916-466-9255.

Lathrup Village Michigan Time Bank ProgramImage courtesy of flickr.com.

The concept that “time is money” is being taken to a whole new level as people across the country and throughout globe “exchange services and skills for time instead of money.” (timebanks.org)

This exchange, better known as “Time Banking,” has taken hold of countless individuals throughout the United States.

“It weaves community one hour at a time,” says Eileen Murray, with Community Skill Exchange Sacramento. “[Time Banking] is a way for folks to help each other. All services, all skills, all talents are of the same value, so [it can] be a way for people to have [a] connection with others.”

The process of Time Banking is simple. By providing one hour of a service or skill, Time Bank members earn a credit called a Time Dollar. This credit can then be “spent,” in order to receive a service from another Time Bank member. “An hour of gardening equals an hour of child-care equals an hour of dentistry equals an hour of home repair equals an hour of teaching someone to play chess,” creating a web of community aid and connections. (timebanks.org)

As there is no tax on time, Time Banks are tax-exempt and serve largely to better communities and lives.

“[Time Banking] also serves people that may be isolated, that don’t have a network of people to draw from,” says Murray. “That would be a way for people to draw on services that they might not otherwise be able to pay for.”

Time Banks throughout the nation vary in size, with a wide range of fifteen to two thousand members. In Sacramento, a new Time Bank called Community Skill Exchange Sacramento is working to serve Sacramento communities.

“We started out as a friends-and-neighbors time bank,” Murray comments. “[Now] we are being mentored by a time bank in Pent, Ohio, which has about 600 members.”

To learn more about Time Banking, visit the national website, timebanks.org. To learn more or become involved with Community Skills Exchange Sacramento, contact Eileen Murray at emurray68@att.net.

This summer, ten local artists created artwork from a little-appreciated part of city life: the dumpster. The re-vamped and re-invented dumpsters were showcased for the last time on August 2nd, at the “Dumpster’s Last Stand.” This video highlights the dumpsters and gets the inside scoop from some of the artists.

In the Sacramento region, a program called the BHC Initiative is working to improve and enhance local communities. A recent Systems Change Workshop allowed BHC participants to expand their knowledge and efforts in improving “systems change” in Sacramento.

The Youth Empowerment Summit will be open to all interested youth.See here for photo credit.

This month, a Youth Empowerment Summit will provide Sacramento youth with a special opportunity to reflect on self-esteem and healthy living.

The Summit, which will be held on August 28th at La Familia Counseling Center, will allow youth to bond and engage in topics pertinent to life as an adolescent.

“La Familia has been in Sacramento providing services for 41 years this October,” says Rachel Rios, Executive Director of La Familia Counseling Center. “Our mission is to improve the quality of life for at-risk kids and families of diverse backgrounds, and we do that by offering multi-cultural counseling and support programs and services to families and to young people.”

La Familia Counseling Center’s upcoming Summit aims to engage local youth while reminding them of their potential. Open to all youth ages 12-18, the Summit will provide lunch, gifts, raffle prizes, and an open environment where participants will discuss self-esteem, self-identity, healthy living, and their communities.

Guest speakers will also be present at the Summit to encourage young participants and offer words of advice.

“We want to be able to reach young people,” says Rios. “We know that they face a multitude of challenges, and we want to encourage them to be engaged, to know that there are people out there that are available to support them, and to start their year in a positive way.”

The Youth Empowerment Summit is a free event open to all interested youth. To RSVP, or to sponsor the event, contact Fransico Arreola at (916) 452-3601, or AFrancisco@lafcc.org. To learn more about La Familia Counseling Center, visit their website.

Soil Born Farms showcased its American River Ranch during a recent “Tomato Jubilee,” where community members were able to taste a variety of heirloom tomatoes, attend free cooking classes by Chef Rick Mahan and Chef Kurt Spataro, tour the farm, and more. This video highlights the event and takes a closer look into the American River Ranch.

Free games, including mini-golf, ring toss, and skee ball, were available to all community members.

Over a thousand days and countless hours of hard work have passed since the Sacramento region began its Building Healthy Communities Initiative. This July, community members celebrated the Sacramento BHC’s progress with food, friends, and fun at the Louise Perez Community Center and Rainbow Park.

“[The Initiative] is designed to help strengthen our communities in a variety of ways so that they can be healthier,” says Kim Williams, Manager of the Sacramento Building Healthy Communities HUB. “It’s everything from walk-ability, safe streets, youth violence to school discipline issues, food access issues, health access issues; we want to remove the barriers that are preventing people from being successful and reaching their goals.”

In Sacramento, those involved with the BHC and its mission have been working hard to make a change with regards to healthy food access, youth development, healthcare access, school attendance issues, and more.

“We are putting on this event for the community, our residents, and our young people, as a way to show them and celebrate all the different things we’ve been doing over the last years, as well as to thank our grantees, who have been doing so much work on behalf of the Initiative,” says Williams.

Free sno-kones and popcorn attracted many young participants.

The event offered a chance for BHC leaders as well as community members to relax and enjoy an assortment of free food, including sno-kones and popcorn, and games for younger participants. Families had the opportunity to relax and get to know some of the people making a change in their communities.

Overall, the event seemed to be a success for everyone.

“This event’s really great. It’s nice to have so many members of the community out and so many organizations who want to make this a better place,” says Isaac Gonzalez, Youth Media Coordinator and BHC HUB Member.

For more information about the Building Healthy Communities Initiative, click here. To get involved in the Sacramento BHC Initiative, visit the HUB’s website.

Sacramento residents may want to think twice before venturing into icy currents of local waterways this summer.

According to a report on Drowning Prevention by Niko S. King, drowning rates in Sacramento are almost 4 times greater than the United States national average. An average of more than 30 deaths by drowning occur in Sacramento each year, giving Sacramento “the highest drowning rate per capita in Northern California.” (8)

The report reveals that American males are almost four times more likely to drown females (15 ), and “low socio-economic factors… [can] contribute to an increased frequency of drowning.” (16)

Over-confidence in swimming skills, as well as lack of familiarity with strong river currents, can be fatal to any age, race, or gender.

Initiatives such as the City of Sacramento’s Swim Safe Program, which provides free swim lessons, free swim team, and free Junior Lifeguard Programs, may reduce drowning rates by providing the opportunity to strengthen swimming skills.

“My first reaction to the classes were that they were a great idea because it’s a[n] important [skill] to learn and it would keep youth from drowning,” says local resident Yeshahyah Yisrael. “These classes will benefit the community because it saves parents from having to go through the horrendous tribulation of losing a child or loved one, and it will give youth a skill to help them survive.”

Free swimming classes are available to the public at Sim Pool, McClatchy Pool, South Side Pool, and Mangan Pool. For more information see here, call (916) 808.2306, or email aquatics@cityofsacramento.org.

Sacramento residents are choosing to make a change in their health by participating in “Walk With a Doc,” a national program that encourages healthy lifestyles. Every month, local participants meet at different parks throughout Sacramento to walk together, with the added opportunity of chatting with a local doctor. Learn more and see a list of upcoming walks here.